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SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, April 8, 2017
6:00PM
Le Fais Do-Do
Atlanta, GA
Honorary Chairs
Kevin & Margaret Hines
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| ADVOCACY UPDATE February 24th, 2017 |
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Because there is no health without Mental Health!
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Mental Health America of Georgia - Legislative Update
Week 7: February 24th, 2017
Pre-Crossover Extended Edition
Week seven of the legislative session is in the books and Crossover Day (next Friday) is fast approaching. For those of you not familiar with Crossover Day, that is the day that a bill must be passed out of the chamber that it was introduced in. If it is not passed it is dead until next year. Due to procedural requirements, if a bill is not out of committee by Tuesday, it will likely not move this year.
That makes the next few days of the session vital to some of the important bills that we are tracking this session. That is also why this newsletter will look a bit different than normal. Below our normal "Bill Progress" section you will find the key pieces of legislation that have not seen a committee vote in our "Bills We Are Watching At Crossover" section.
If you contact a committee chair, or legislator, please remember that this is a very busy time, so do not be surprised if you do not hear back. Do not be discouraged by that. They are working hard right now, but they still want to know what you think. As always, be respectful and succinct in your comments.
Bill Progress:
SB 8- Suprise Billing Act-
Sen. Renee Unterman and others
As mentioned above, this passed the Senate by a unanimous vote. It now will go through a similar process in the House, but action by the House committee is unlikely until after Crossover Day next Friday.
Bills We Are Watching At Crossover:
SB 55- Psychiatric Advance Directive Act-
This bill would allow competent adults to execute a psychiatric advance directive. The advance directive would contain contact information for individuals to be notified of a mental health crisis, provisions for what the person would and would not allow to be done as treatment, medication history, proven de-escalation responses, and the appointment of a mental health agent to make decisions in the place of the person in a mental health crisis. All decisions made by the agent must be made in a good-faith effort to comply with the advance directive.
SB 81
- "Jeffrey Dallas Gay, Jr." Act (Opioid Bill)
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Sen. Unterman and others
Given the current opioid epidemic, there may not be a more important piece of legislation in the General Assembly this session. This bill would crack down on pill mills, and establish requirements for prescribers to follow to help ensure that opioids are prescribed and taken responsibly. It also sets out criminal liability for prescribers who fail to meet these requirements.
SB 99- Purging of Records for the Purposes of the Background Check-
Sen. Elena Parent and others
This bill would allow a person whose involuntary hospitalization records have been made part of their criminal record to petition the court to purge the hospitalization records from his or her criminal record 12 months after release. If denied, the person can petition again in 2 years. This would require the prosecutor, or the prosecutor's successor, to be notified. The prosecutor would be able to represent the interest of the state at the petition hearing.
SB 146
- Electro-convulsive Therapy-
Sen. Donzella James and others
This bill would require the person conducting electro-convulsive therapy to be a physician. It would also prohibit electro-convulsive therapy on anyone under the age of 16. Additionally, it would require a signed informed consent, and physicians would be required to report these therapies to the state for data collection.
SB 149
- School Resource Officer Training-
Sen. Emanuel Jones and other
This bill would require anyone hired as a school resource officer to receive a 40 hour training course. This training, among other things, would be required to provide education on confronting someone with a mental illness, or in a mental health crisis.
SB 185
- Burden of Proof in Criminal Proceedings-
Sen. Elena Parent and others
This bill would modify the burden of proof when a person pleads or is found to be guilty of a crime but mentally ill. Current law requires the guilt and the person's mental status to be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt." This bill would lower the burden of proof for the mental status to a "preponderance of the evidence."
SB 188
- Policy for Psychotropic Drugs and Schools-
Sen. Donzella James and other
This bill would require school boards to adopt policies that prohibit school personnel from excluding a student from programs and services because a parent has refused to place a student on psychotropic medication. It would also prohibit school personnel from compelling a parent to put a child on psychotropic medication.
HB 71
- Suprise Billing Act-
Rep. Richard Smith and others
This is the House version of the Surprise Billing Act, that Sen. Unterman has filed in the Senate. This bill has passed out of the House Health and Human Services Committee and is eligible for a floor vote.
HB 173- Allowing Marriage and Family Therapists to 1013
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Rep. Joyce Chandler and others
This bill would allow marriage counselors and family therapists to have someone involuntarily committed for treatment of a mental illness or for substance abuse.
Upcoming Committee Meetings
Remember that meetings are subject to change and cancellation, so always check the
House and
Senate meeting calendars for updated information.
House:
Monday, Feb. 27th
1:30pm- Human Relations and Aging- 515 CAP
Senate:
Monday, Feb. 27th
8:00am- Health and Human Services- 450 CAP
5:00pm- Health and Human Services- 450 CAP
Tuesday, Feb. 28th
2:00pm- Health and Human Services- 450 CAP
Thursday, March 2nd
2:00pm- Health and Human Services- 450 CAP
(CAP=in the Capitol building; CLOB=in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building)
You can follow all of these as well as future bills at www.legis.ga.gov. This website also posts the schedule and agenda for committee meetings. If you plan to attend a committee meeting on a mental health/co-occurring substance use issue, please contact Joseph Cantrell (joseph@mhageorgia.org
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Joseph Cantrell, Director of Advocacy and Policy Programming
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| TAKE A PROACTIVE STAND! What's the best way to make your voice heard? Have you been to the Capitol lately? Being there, seeing your legislator in action or speaking with them directly is the best way to advocate on behalf of our public mental health system. If you would like to learn more about how to set up your visit and what to do when you are there, please contact Joseph at 678-904-1965. He will be glad to walk you through the process. |
| We need your help to move our advocacy voice forward!
MHA of GA is a leader in the mental health advocacy community. You can learn more on our website,
www.mhageorgia.org.
Your donation will help ensure that MHA of GA continues to keep mental health awareness in front of Georgia's legislators. This is a critical time for our community, and now is the time to act!! Click here to support mental health advocacy in the state of Georgia. |
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